How JustAnswer Works:

Experts are full of valuable knowledge and are ready to help with any question. Credentials confirmed by a Fortune 500 verification firm.

Get a Professional Answer

Via email, text message, or notification as you wait on our site.Ask follow up questions if you need to.

100% Satisfaction Guarantee

Rate the answer you receive.

Ask Chris T., JD Your Own Question

Chris T., JD, Lawyer

Category: Family Law

Satisfied Customers: 4001

Experience: I have assisted many customers and clients with their family law questions and I'm experienced in family law litigation.

45002201

Type Your Family Law Question Here...

Chris T., JD is online now

my husband has moved out and is suing for divorce. He is 70

Resolved Question:

my husband has moved out and is suing for divorce. He is 70 and collects almost $5000 a month in disability and social security. I am 62 and have a job that pays about $46,000 a year. I have diabetes, hypertension, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis and won't be able to work much longer. 36 year marriage. For the first 15 years he was an alcoholic and tried to strangle me once. About 12 years ago he had a "nervous breakdown", later ruled PTSD, and forged my signature to our whole life policies, cashing them in and wasting the money. For the past 3 years he has refused to pay almost all of the household bills. He complained of the mess in the house but didn't work and refused to clean anything, although he hired a housekeeper about 7 times total in two years for a day at a time. I have sole custody of our 30 year old disabled (mentally and behaviorally) daughter and am trying to get her back from the residential care facility where she has been since August. We have a house, cars (mine is old) and about $300,000 in retirement. Can I refuse to divorce him, and if not will the assets be split 50/50?

Hello and thank you for using our service. My name is XXXXX XXXXX I am a licensed attorney and will try my best to help you. I just ask for you to ask any additional questions you may have if you feel the question has not been answered. Also, IF I have bad news for you, please remember I am only the messenger, I will try my best to give you a solution, but sometimes the law does not have a good one.

You can refuse to divorce him but he doesn't need your permission. In the united states anyone who wants a divorce can have one. You can delay him by not agreeing to anything but that will only prolong the inevitable and cause you to spend a lot of money in attorney fees that could be used to support you. Yes, the assets and debt will be split 50/50. I hope this helps clarify.

Please let me know if you have additional questions and please do not forget to rate my service to you (not the state of the law or whether you dislike the answer) as that is the only way that I can get credit for my assistance to you. If you feel I have not earned a positive rating, please give me a chance to do so. Keep in mind even after you rate the service, I can still answer additional questions for you without additional charge. We are not paid a salary here and positive ratings encourage experts to answer future questions. If you do rate me positively, a bonus is always appreciated. If you would like to request me in the future, just make sure you type: To Georgetown Lawyer on the subject line. Thank you!

With all due respect, I am wondering if this is the complete answer. I know he will eventually get his divorce if he wants one. However, I have looked up the Missouri statutes and marital misconduct is taken into account; it is not a 50/50 automatic state like Illinois (( believe). He has already had the lion's share of our joint earnings for years, including almost all of his for the past 3 years, Throughout our marriage it has been this way. For instance, I never got a new car. He would decide he wanted a new car for himself, and take mine in for a trade without asking me, then I would have to take his old car. This divorce talk started in August when I asked social security about retirement and they told me I would get only $1100 a month, which he proclaimed not enough for him to bother with, as it wouldn't let me pay all household bills. He also has ran all over town contracting services that he negotiated, such as $263 a month in cell phone bills, which I paid for. All of this I did to keep the peace for my daughter to have a home. I believe he wants to force the sale of the only home she has ever known so she will have nowhere to come back to.

You are correct, the judge does not have to divide up the money 50/50. The judge is bound by law to make an "equitable" distribution of the marital assets. To that end, the legislature as set out a list of factors to help judges make that determination. The judge will look at the following:(1) The economic circumstances of each spouse at the time the division of property is to become effective, including the desirability of awarding the family home or the right to live therein for reasonable periods to the spouse having custody of any children; (2) The contribution of each spouse to the acquisition of the marital property, including the contribution of a spouse as homemaker; (3) The value of the nonmarital property set apart to each spouse; (4) The conduct of the parties during the marriage; and (5) Custodial arrangements for minor children.

So, if your husband has engaged in dishonest or wasteful spending of marital property, that is something the judge could consider. Further, the judge will consider the fact that your husband makes substantially more than you (he's making $60k, to your $46k).

So, based on that, I think that you are in a good position to get more than 50% of the remaining marital assets. However, keep in mind that the decision is up to a judge, so I can't possibly know what he or she is going to do. But, based on what you've said, you are in a strong position.

Not only did he answer my Michigan divorce question but was also able to help me out with it, too. I have since won my legal case on this matter and thank you so much for it. LeeMichigan

Mr. Kaplun clearly had an exceptional understanding of the issue and was able to explain it concisely. I would recommend JustAnswer to anyone. Great service that lives up to its promises!Gary B.Edmond, OK

My Expert was fast and seemed to have the answer to my taser question at the tips of her fingers. Communication was excellent. I left feeling confident in her answer.EricRedwood City, CA

I am very pleased with JustAnswer as a place to go for divorce or criminal law knowledge and insight.
MichaelWichita, KS

PaulMJD helped me with questions I had regarding an urgent legal matter. His answers were excellent. Three H.Houston, TX

Anne was extremely helpful. Her information put me in the right direction for action that kept me legal, possible saving me a ton of money in the future. Thank you again, Anne!! ElaineAtlanta, GA

It worked great. I had the facts and I presented them to my ex-landlord and she folded and returned my deposit. The 50 bucks I spent with you solved my problem. TonyApopka, FL

Meet The Experts:

Ely

Counselor at Law

Satisfied Customers:

9484

Private practice with focus on family, criminal, PI, consumer protection, and business consultation.

I have assisted many customers and clients with their family law questions and I'm experienced in family law litigation.

X

Ask a Family Lawyer

Get a Professional Answer. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.

97 Family Lawyers are Online Now

Type Your Family Law Question Here...

characters left:

DISCLAIMER: Answers from Experts on JustAnswer are not substitutes for the advice of an attorney. JustAnswer is a public forum and questions and responses are not private or confidential or protected by the attorney-client privilege. The Expert above is not your attorney, and the response above is not legal advice. You should not read this response to propose specific action or address specific circumstances, but only to give you a sense of general principles of law that might affect the situation you describe. Application of these general principles to particular circumstances must be done by a lawyer who has spoken with you in confidence, learned all relevant information, and explored various options. Before acting on these general principles, you should hire a lawyer licensed to practice law in the jurisdiction to which your question pertains.

The responses above are from individual Experts, not JustAnswer. The site and services are provided “as is”. To view the verified credential of an Expert, click on the “Verified” symbol in the Expert’s profile. This site is not for emergency questions which should be directed immediately by telephone or in-person to qualified professionals. Please carefully read the Terms of Service (last updated February 8, 2012).